Zigie – Introduction

I grew up in the rural town of Matamata, in the mighty Waikato, where I lived with my Dad, a sporting fanatic who passed on his interest to me. Although it is a small community, Matamata College is greatly known for its commitment, motivation and success in a wide range of sporting activities. Throughout my school years I was heavily involved in athletics and netball and I found my niche in weekly physical education and sports science classes.

Then the annual athletics day rolled around. Track and field – I loved it all. But after a handful of events I realized I had no gas left in the tank. When I was younger I could happily make my way through most events across the full day and still be running around with my friends at the end. This was when I realised I could no longer get away with what I used to. I had outlived the natural ability you have as a young kid where you can be good at anything physical without even trying.

So I knew that if I wanted to carry on with athletics and netball, chances were I’d have to put in the hard yards to stay on top. This is when I really started taking strength and cardio training seriously. As I began to favour netball more and more, anaerobic training sessions and resistance training in the gym became weekly rituals. My team was involved in several competitions, including Upper North Island Nationals where the opposition was mostly bigger, faster and stronger than us Matamata hobbit folk. I needed to have a solid fitness base to keep up with the pace of national netball. I also needed to be strong through my upper body – my rotator cuff, my pectorals and my back for strong passing and contest on defence. My leg muscles, in particular my quads, hamstrings and calves needed to be strong and powerful to support myself through the continuous jumping and changing of direction.

I have been playing competitive netball for the past six years and I have always found strength training difficult. It has taken me a while but I have eventually become better at pushing through that pain barrier. My mind likes to play tricks on me – something I’m sure you can all relate to at times. “You can’t lift anymore”, “This is your limit”, “This is too hard.” says the little voice in your head. One of my favourite parts about working at MedStrength is helping people to ignore that little voice and to realise just what their body and their mind is capable of. A little encouragement and support goes a long way in reaching your goals and I pride myself in being a part of our client’s journey to their goals here at MedStrength.